Maine Resident
Speaks out on Safety
From time to time the issue of whistleblowing at grade crossings is debated in town halls. Residents and local officials routinely volley back and forth over the issue of safety vs. noise. Several years ago, at one such meeting in Cumberland, Maine, Mr. John Davis quietly came forward and told how he lost a family member in a crossing accident. His story of how a train’s whistle may have saved his sister’s life moved those in attendance to support the continuation of whistleblowing. He was continuing the job his father had started years earlier, of speaking out at such meetings with the hope of preventing someone else from losing a loved one on the tracks. A copy of his speech has been given to the National Office for Operation Lifesaver and portions of it are reprinted here.
On June 17th, 1941, my 24-year-old sister was nearing the completion of her first year as an elementary school teacher and music instructor in the town of Livermore Falls, Maine. She was a very talented musician and had the promise of a rewarding career ahead of her. On that day she left the school during the noon recess and headed downtown in her car to purchase some hotdogs for an after-school picnic to be held in celebration of the end of the school year.
She approached a railroad crossing in downtown Livermore Falls just as the flashing signals warned of the approach of a train. There were no gates, only signal lights. She stopped and waited for the train to pass. Once the train had passed she proceeded to enter the crossing. It was a two track crossing and at that moment, unbeknown to her, another train reached the crossing from the opposite direction.
The signal lights were still flashing but we assume she thought that was in response to the train that had just cleared the crossing. It wasn’t. The locomotive of the second train struck my sister’s auto and crushed it against the concrete base of a nearby signal tower. She was killed instantly.
My sister was negligent. The signals were operating. However, there was one element missing. The citizens of Livermore Falls some time before had grown tired of the frequent train whistles and had petitioned that they no longer be required at that crossing. The petition had been granted. Although no one would ever know, it is possible that if the trains had been required to whistle, particularly the second train, my sister would have been adequately warned and would have waited for the second train to pass. And her life would have been saved.
Trains don’t whistle to create a disturbance. Their whistles are a safety measure. If whistling continues perhaps a daughter, son, brother, sister, wife or husband will not die. An occasional train whistle doesn not seem too great a price to pay for that assurance. Thank you.
Editor’s Note:
Thank you Mr. Davis.